Aramco's subsidiary, Aramco Overseas, signed a pact in March 2011 with top Chinese oil firm PetroChina on building the refinery, saying it planned to supply up to 200,000 bpd to the project via a long-term contract.

"We are committed to the Yunnan project and we will pursue it," Al-Falih told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Beijing.

Asked if that meant supplying crude oil or investing in the construction of the refinery itself, Al-Falih said "both". - Reuters